A transcript from a Question and Answers session with Dr. R. C. Sproul and Rev. Rick Phillips at a Ligonier Conference in 2007:
Question: Can one be a true Christian and never go to Church? … what about people who have jobs which mean that they are constantly working on Sundays and therefore are not in Church? (this may well involve two different questions….)
Dr. R. C. Sproul: “I would say that it is possible to be a Christian and never go to Church. The thief on the cross never had any opportunity to go to Church. The Roman Catholic Church defines the votum ecclesium explicitum, which is an explicit desire to be joined to the Church but you are providentially hindered from doing it; OR at least the implicitum – that you have some desire in your heart to do what is pleasing to God, you just don’t know yet that going to Church is pleasing to God.
If you are a Christian and persistently absent yourself from the assembling together of the saints of God, that would indicate to me that your profession is a false profession. Its possible for someone who does not know any better, for a short time after their conversion, to not be involved in a (local) body, but how can you have even an elementary understanding of the commandments of Christ and absent yourself from His body for any protracted length of time? If somebody did that I would say that is very strong evidence that they were never really converted.
Rick Phillips: “There’s different kinds of necessity. It is not necessary as a condition of salvation but under normal circumstances it is a necessary consequence, as is sanctification in general. It is normative that we should be part of the people of God and their worship. And I want to say…. now I dont know the person and I dont know the particulars… but you are are making a tragically foolish life choice if you are in an occupation that keeps you from being part of the people of God both in their worship and therefore in their life. When we look back on our lives the quality and value of the teaching in the Church and our participation in the Church will be one of the chief features through which we were a blessing to others and we were blessed.
It blows my mind (as a pastor).. someone will come to me and ask “Pastor, can you tell me if there’s a good church in such and such a city?” and I will say, “well why do you ask?”
“I’ve decided to move there.”
You’ve decided to move someplace without knowing what churches are there? Why?
“I’m making $10,000 more.”
That is a foolish choice. You’ve got children.. and we factor in the availability of God fearing Bible Reformed churches – that takes such a low place in our decision making; whereas the salary is everything. And one of the most important things in our lives will be the faithfulness of the word that’s preached and the church that we go to and where we raise our children. It needs to be FAR higher on our priority list.
Sproul: “You think of the story of Abraham and Lot, when their cowboys couldn’t get along, Abraham said, “now look, lets not fuss. We’ll divide the land in half. You go first. You choose first. You take whatever you want.” And Lot looked over this way and he saw grass, wonderful places for grazing his cattle. There was a city there where he could take his cattle to market. All he saw were dollar signs (or shekels, or whatever it was at the time) in his head.. and said “I’ll take that” leaving Abraham with the arid desert, a horrible place to raise cows. And so Abraham acknowledged it – he made a bargain and allowed his relative to take what he wanted. And Lot chose Sodom and Sodom was a fantastic place to raise cows, but it was a horrible place to raise his family, which he found out. And that is what Rick is saying, “why wouldn’t where you go to Church be paramount before you make a decision to move somewhere?”
Phillips: “And then Lot was saved by God’s grace but not Lot’s daughters.”
Sproul: “That’s right.”